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The news of KL Rahul ruling himself out of the World Test Championships (WTC) final came down as a thunderbolt for Team India with just one month to the marquee clash at the Ovals. Sourav Ganguly drops clear cut answer to KL Rahul's replacement in India's squad for WTC final.
Rahul picked up an injury while playing an Indian Premier League (IPL) match for Lucknow Super Giants against Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 1. Rahul got injured while fielding during the game, tearing a tendon in his right leg and had to be helped off the ground.
"After careful consideration and consultation with the medical team, it's been concluded that I'll be undergoing a surgery on my thigh shortly," Rahul announced in an emotional post on his Instagram handle on Friday.
"My focus will be on my rehabilitation and recovery in the coming weeks. It's a tough call to make, but I know it's the right one to ensure a full recovery," he added.
Meanwhile, Rahul's absence has given a headache to BCCI who is brainstorming to find an apt replacement for the 31-year-old. Notably, India will be locking horns with Australia in the WTC final which is slated to be played between June 7 and June 11 at the Ovals.
Meanwhile former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly also encountered the same question to which he came out with a clear cut reply. Sourav Ganguly said that Ajinkya Rahane is there in the squad but at the end it's up to Team India's head coach Rahul Dravid to decide the player who will come in to replace Indian wicketkeeping batter KL Rahul for the WTC 2023 final.
"It's for Rahul Dravid to decide, Rahane is there," Sourav Ganguly said.
Rahul, who was leading LSG's pack, has also been ruled out of remainder of the ongoing IPL owing to injury.
"As the team captain, it pains me deeply not to be able to be there during this crucial period. But, I'm confident that the boys will rise to the occasion and give their best performance as always. I'll be cheering for them from the sidelines with all of you, watching every game. @lucknowsupergiants," Rahul's Instagram post read.
"Absolutely gutted that I won't be at the Oval next month with Team India. I'll do everything I can to get back in blue and help my country. That has always been my focus and priority. @indiancricketteam. I want to express gratitude to each one of you - my fans, that gave me the strength to get back up, the LSG management and the BCCI for their promptness, and my teammates for their unwavering support during this difficult time. Your encouragement and messages mean a lot to me and motivate me to come back stronger and fitter than ever before," he added.
"Meanwhile, I promise to keep you all updated on my progress and hope to be back on the field sooner than soon. The last few days have been really hard, but I'm determined to come out on top. Injuries are never easy, but I'll give it my all as always. Thank you for all the support and good wishes," he concluded.
India's Test squad WTC final: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K L Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.
Australia's Test squad for WTC final: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner.
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